Download the 3D Studio MAX ( 3ds max ) Training Video which demonstrates the viewport handling in 3D Studio MAX here

The download is a RAR file which contains the training video file compressed using MPEG-4 codec. Click here for instructions on viewing the video.

There is one mode of zooming we haven't mentioned yet. It is the region zoom. The only difference is that it is available only in Orthographic views. You right click on any orthographic viewport (Front, Top etc) to make it active. When you look at the viewport tools, you can see the Region Zoom among the tools. Click to select it. Now click and drag inside any of the orthographic viewports to draw a rectangle. Dont draw a rectangle having the whole size of the viewport. Draw a small one. When you release the mouse button, you will notice that the region you have drawn zooms in to fit in the viewport in 3D Studio MAX ( 3ds max ).

Now left-click on the 'Perspective' viewport to make it active. Now you will notice that the Region Zoom tool has gone and another tool replaced it in the viewport tools section. It is the Field of View tool. Select it and Click-drag inside the perspective viewport. You will notice a kind of zooming. But its not exactly zooming. The Field of View (FOV) of the camera (perspective is a simple camera in 3D Studio MAX ( 3ds max )) is changing. It is a property of the camera lens that makes the view captured by it wider or narrower. We will discuss more about FOV when we learn cameras in later tutorials & lessons of 3D Studio MAX ( 3ds max ). For now, you just experiment with the tool and get a rough idea. ok?

Got already fed up with the viewport tutorial & tools. Don't worry. Just a simple tool remains. It is the Min/Max Toggle tool. To see how it works, simply make any of the viewports active by clicking on an empty space inside the viewport. Now click on the Min/Max Toggle tool. Seen the effect? The viewport got maximized to fill the space taken by all the four viewports. right? Don't worry clicking on the tool again, brings it back to the previous state. Try it on all the four viewports in 3D Studio MAX ( 3ds max ).

Tip: Here's something that will prove handy. Any viewport tool that got selected can be un-selected by right clicking the mouse within a viewport. Also do note that the viewport on which you right click gets active. Try it by selecting the Zoom tool and right clicking on any viewport in 3D Studio MAX ( 3ds max ).

Ever wondered if there is a way you can change the four viewports to just two? Yes you can in 3D Studio MAX ( 3DS MAX ). Simply right-click on any of the Viewport tools (zoom for example). A viewport Configuration dialog appears. Click on the second tab named 'Layout' and choose one of the several layouts available. Then click ok. The new layout will appear in the 3D Studio MAX ( 3DS MAX ) window. You can switch back to the standard four viewport layout, by repeating the steps you have performed and choosing the original layout from the dialog box.