Making blender more like max

Support Basics & Interface
1

I have used 3ds max for quite a while and become accustomed to how it looks and feels, when loading up Blender it seems so much more complex and disorganized (atleast in my opinion). I would like to make Blender as similar to max as possible, are there any good plugins to do this?

Thanks in advance :smiley:

2

I would start by adding the following line to the startup code

sleep(2000000);

so that the startup times feel like max :stuck_out_tongue:

seriously though.
The reason that Blender looks like a program looks like it comes from an alternate reality that branched off ours sometime in the early nineties is because that is more or less what happened.

  • There has been ongoing work on a new keyboard layout that will I assume seem more familiar to Max/Maya users. No idea when this will be done.

  • Left click select can be found in the preferences, as can an orbit mode that works more like Max.

  • blender has a very flexible layout system - directly after the help menu you will see a dropdown that lists layout types, you can create your own layouts here and save them to your default file template with CTRL + U. you can split and join panels using the \\ texture marks at the top right and bottom left of each panel you can change the panel type with a dropdown in the bottom left corner of the panel.

Other than that Blender is Blender and not Free 3D Studio Max (which I imagine would be a very popular product if it existed), your best bet is to hold your breath and dive in.

3

I gave this answer to you over at Polycount. But just in case you see it here first:

I don’t know to what extent you need Blender to remind you of Max, but I will suggest that you might feel more at home with Quad View mode, which you can toggle with Ctrl Alt Q.

You’d also be better taking Prime8’s advice with switching the default “Select” button from RMB to LMB (File > User Preferences > Input > Select With… ).

There are also a few UI themes (located in User preferences > Themes > Presets) that also might ring more visually familiar, as well as the option to customize your own theme. Though, I’m not sure if UI color scheme is as big a deal to you or not, but it’s there if you need it.

Personally, some things in Blender’s available workflow I prefer over Max in terms of workflow, particularly the handy hotkey-based workflow provided by addons such as:

• Dynamic Spacebar Menu (which lets you quickly add objects, modifiers, etc.) (included in Blender in User Preferences > Addons, but an overview here)
• Quick Tools (which allows context-sensitive access to handy options via Q key)
• F2 (handy addon that extends the ‘Make Edge/Face’ functionality via F key)
• A Pie Menu is now available in Blender (available in User Preferences > Addons) that uses Spacebar as a pie menu (though, personally, I rarely use it–I prefer using Dynamic Spacebar Menu and the Tab key instead)

I find these save so much mousing around and menu-hunting for me. Efficient workflow.

Though, I think you’ll likely find yourself settling with your own customized solution, where you set up some of Max’s UI vibe but learn some of Blender’s hotkey heart.

Personally, I’d find ways to make it easier to use Blender’s system, rather than ways to make it feel more like Max. You can get some Max traits back, but Blender’s just a different beast internally.