Can't get started

I have just installed Blender but my default screen doesn’t match all the tutorials I have loaded so I can’t get going. I have a plan view of a cube with no panels to the left and right of the screen. All the tutorials show a 3D cube with parameter panels on each side.

Also - is there an “undo” anywhere? What am I doing wrong?

(iMAC : OS 10.6.2 Short keyboard - no numeric pad ; 2 button mouse with centre roller)

Hi Keith.

Control-z is the undo key.
I’m assuming you are using 2.55 if so
In most windows pressing “t” will show the tools available on the left, and “n” will give you the properties panel on the right.

Wha??? no numeric pad… that’d be a nightmare for me… lol

Hello batFINGER

Thanks for responding so quickly. When I start Blender, along the top I get a green field with www.blender.org 249.2 then Ve8 | Fa:6 | Ob:3-1 | La:1
Does that mean I have downloaded 2.49-2 (I got it from the blender site)

How do I switch to the 3D display

My ultimate goal is to model my Roadster which I have drawn in Word
( I don’t know if URL’s are allowed but if they are see
homepages.tesco.net/keithhowell/showroadster.htm)

Hello batFINGER

Thanks for responding so quickly. When I start Blender, along the top I get a green field with www.blender.org 249.2 then Ve8 | Fa:6 | Ob:3-1 | La:1
Does that mean I have downloaded 2.49-2 (I got it from the blender site)

How do I switch to the 3D display

My ultimate goal is to model my Roadster which I have drawn in Word

homepages.tesco.net/keithhowell/showroadster.htm)

Hi batFINGER, Thanks for your help. I have come to the conclusion that life is going to be very difficult without the numeric pad (even though there is an emulation mode) so I am going to try and buy a separate numeric keypad.

I also assumed that because 2.55 was still in beta test it would be safer for a newbie to use the proven solid version so that if things went wrong I knew it would be me. Perhaps I ought download 2.55, what do you think?

i would say get used to blend 2.5 ASAP.

its not worth learning blender all over again, trust me.

Btw, i have no numeric pad, and i do fine with emulation.

(sigh, reminds me of me starting blender)

Hey, welcome to Blenderartists.
I would definitely recommend starting with blender 2.55, and getting a numberpad. it will improve your workflow speed for modeling greatly.

Thanks for the advice re 2.5 At least now the tutorials look almost the same as my screen. Two questions please:

  1. What do I have to turn on to make the lines appear between new verticies when I press subdivide
  2. How do I get the “Tool shelf” option to appear (It is above “Object tools” on the left side of the screen in the tutorials I am following)

hy,

  1. i don’t know exaclty what you mean, you can switch between vertice/edge/face mode with ctrl+tab, and between wired and shaded mode with ‘z’.
  2. pressing the ‘t’ button.

if you’re new, maybe this will help:



blenderguru.com (if you’re more advanced)

If you listen to me, you’d throw away that magic mouse, or sale it to a maniac :smiley: nightmare of the 3d guys :smiley:
I have this : http://www.x7.cn/oscaren/
it costs half as the magic mouse, has 2 programmable buttons (like ctrl+z, and numpad-del to me)
3000 dpi, and looks quite cool :wink: