The
User Interface can be defined as the aggregate of tools available that allow
you to work with the application. Some of these tools can be used for viewing
while others allow you to control or manipulate the object being viewed. In this training manual it is assumed that the user has a reasonable familiarity with working in applications on any Microsoft Windows® operating system. Some Maxsurf specifics to the User Interface are described below. It is a good idea to read this section before you start modelling, as it will give you a good understanding of the architecture of the application which helps you find commands faster and operate the program more efficiently.
The
User Interface can be defined as the aggregate of tools available that allow
you to work with the application. Some of these tools can be used for viewing
while others allow you to control or manipulate the object being viewed.
The Maxsurf User Interface can be divided up into three main groups:
§ Menus
§ Toolbars
§ Windows
Unlike some other CAD applications Maxsurf does not have a command line. This has the advantage that you don’t have to memorise different commands and everything can be done using the commands in the menus.
To enable faster access to the menu commands Maxsurf has two other options:
1. Toolbars. The most common commands can also be accessed through toolbars.
2. Additionally, Maxsurf has several object based right click commands. This means that after selecting an object and using the right mouse button, Maxsurf displays the most commonly used commands on the selected object. For example, when you select an edge of a surface and right click on it, you can access the Surface Properties or perform a trimming operation on the surface.
These are just other (usually more efficient) ways to get to a corresponding menu command.
The menus and toolbars in Maxsurf operate in the same way as most Microsoft applications and will not be explained any further. At this stage it is not required to know all the menu commands as we will cover most of them as we go along in this training manual, but for the interested reader the function of each Menu command is explained in detail in the Menus section of the Reference Chapter of the Maxsurf manual.
A brief overview of the menus is worth studying:
|
Menu |
Description |
|
File |
Working with the file |
|
Edit |
Copy & Paste and other editing commands |
|
View |
Lets you set how you want something displayed. Often confused with the Display menu. |
|
Controls |
All commands to do with Control Points |
|
Surfaces |
All commands to do with Surfaces |
|
Display |
Select what you want to display |
|
Data |
All commands to do with calculations & producing data |
|
Window |
Different window display options |
|
Help |
Accessing different Help resources |
The toolbars contain toolbar buttons that activate menu commands. Only the most commonly used menu commands are on the default toolbars. Maxsurf allows you to create you own toolbars and toolbar buttons. This is not covered in the LearningMaxsurf training manual. For the interested reader: information on this can be found in the Customising Toolbars section in the Maxsurf Manual.
Continue reading the Maxsurf Windows section of this training manual.