Background problem

Hey all, i am very new to blender but i have easily understood the overall interface, but i have a problem, i’m reading an official manual, but it says the last edition was in 2003 :o , what i am trying to do id to load a background image to start modelling with reference, just as i used to do with 3dsmax 8)

thank you for your attention

3D window header… View >> View Background Image.

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Background reference images can only be seen if the view is precisely in one of the cardinal directions (for instance if you type Numpad-1). The instant you rotate the view the background image vanishes.

I will sometimes split the 3D view into three panes, for front top and side views. I can then load the appropriate blueprint into each pane.