Background Panel

Provides options for viewport background display.

Procedures

To assign an image to one or all viewports:

  1. Activate the viewport that is to display the background image.
  2. Open the Viewport Configuration dialog to the Background panel (keyboard shortcut: Alt+B).
  3. Choose Use Files.
  4. In the Setup group, click the Files button.

    This opens the Select Background Image dialog.

  5. Use the dialog to open the image or animation to use.
  6. To display the image in a single viewport, click Apply to Active View. To display the image in all viewports, click Apply to All Views in Active Layout Tab.
  7. Click OK.

    The image is displayed in a single viewport or all viewports.

To display the environment map in a viewport:

  1. Use the Environment dialog to assign an environment map. (See the procedure “To choose an environment map.”)
  2. In the Environment dialog Background group, be sure Use Map is turned on (the default).
  3. Activate the viewport where you want the map displayed.
  4. Open the Viewport Configuration dialog to the Background panel (keyboard shortcut: Alt+B).
  5. Choose Use Environment Background.
  6. Click OK.

    The map is displayed in the viewport.

To assign a viewport background by dragging and dropping:

  1. Browse images in the Asset Browser, in Windows Explorer, or in another graphics-browsing application.
  2. Select a thumbnail of the bitmap with your mouse and drag it onto an empty area of a viewport.

    Do not drop the map onto an object: This creates a material instead of assigning a background.

    3ds Max opens the Bitmap Viewport Drop dialog:

    A viewport background
    When on, puts the bitmap into the viewport as a background.
    An environment map
    When on, includes the bitmap when you render the viewport.
  3. Click OK.

To display an animated background:

  1. Choose Use Files and assign an animation file (AVI, MOV, or IFL file) as the viewport background.
  2. Turn on Animate Background.
  3. Choose Customize Preferences. On the Viewports panel, turn on Update Background While Playing.

    Now the background plays when you click Play, or when you drag the time slider.

    Tip: If you follow these steps and the background still doesn't appear to animate, open the Time Configuration dialog and in the Playback group, turn off Real Time.

To use the environment map with animation controls:

    This procedure is useful if you’ve assigned an animated environment map and want access to the animation controls on the Background panel.

  1. On the Viewport Configuration dialog Background panel, choose Use Files.
  2. As the image file, choose the same map you’re using as the environment map.
  3. Set parameters in the Animation Synchronization group.
  4. Click OK.

    The environment map appears in the viewport. The image is renderable.

To match the viewport background with the rendered background:

  1. Activate the viewport to render.
  2. Open the Point-Of-View (POV) Viewport label menu and choose Show Safe Frames.

    This turns on Safe Frames in the viewport.

    Note: You can also use Views menu Configure Safe Frames tab. In the Application group, turn on Show Safe Frames In Active View.
  3. In the Material Editor, create a material that contains the bitmap for your rendered background.
  4. At the bitmap level of the Material Editor, on the Coordinates rollout, choose Environ.

    The Mapping control is automatically set to Screen. This is the only mapping type that works for this purpose.

  5. On the main menu, choose Rendering Environment.
  6. Drag the map from the Material Editor Maps rollout to the Environment Map button on the Environment dialog. Click OK on the Instance (Copy) Map dialog.
  7. In the Viewport Configuration dialog Background panel, choose Use Files and then click Files to assign the same bitmap.
  8. In the Aspect Ratio group, choose either Match Viewport or Match Rendering Output. Click OK.
  9. Render the viewport.

    The background displayed in the rendered scene should exactly match the background displayed in the Live area of the safe frames.

    Note: When you use the Match Bitmap option, the bitmap reverts to its original aspect ratio and does not match the rendered scene, unless you're rendering to the same aspect ratio.

To remove a background image:

  1. Activate the viewport in which the background image is visible.
  2. Open the Viewport Configuration dialog to the Background panel.
  3. In the Setup group, click Remove.
  4. Click OK to close the Viewport Configuration dialog.

Interface

Topics in this section
Parent topic: Viewport Configuration