by miauu·Modeling
Illustrative cover generated by AnyPlugins — no product screenshot available.
Listed in the Autodesk App Store library and updated in April 2023, miauu's Work Plane earns its place for turning the perspective viewport into a controllable modeling surface with lockable, snappable construction planes.
miauu's Work Plane is a script for Autodesk 3ds Max that generates a work plane aligned to the two major axes closest to the screen axis. In its default mode the plane adjusts to the screen rotation, so turning the Perspective viewport snaps it to the dominant XY, XZ or YZ plane.
The plane can also be locked and used as a construction plane. Several methods exist for manually setting it to a specific center and axis: you can lock it to a chosen major axis and position, or snap it to selected geometry or to the polygons directly under the mouse. You can also force a manual alignment through the Work Plane commands.
Those commands sit in the Work Plane menu on the main menu bar, and you can assign hotkeys to most of them through Customize - Customize User Interface under the "miauu's Work Plane" category. As a modeling assistant it supports doing most modeling in a single perspective viewport, leaving more screen space for the model and tools, and gives a fast way to create construction planes and constrain tools to specific axes.
miauu's Work Plane is best for 3ds Max modelers who want to work mainly in the perspective viewport, create construction planes quickly, and constrain their tools to specific axes.
miauu's Work Plane is completely free to download and use.
miauu's Work Plane exposes its commands through the Work Plane menu located in the main menu bar of 3ds Max. From there you can trigger manual alignment and the other Work Plane actions. For faster access, you can assign hotkeys to most of the commands by going to Customize - Customize User Interface and opening the "miauu's Work Plane" category. Binding the actions you use most to keys lets you set, lock and snap the plane without leaving the perspective viewport.
miauu's Work Plane runs in an automatic mode by default, adjusting itself to match the two major axes most closely aligned to the screen axis. When you rotate the Perspective viewport, the plane snaps to whichever major plane is dominant, XY, XZ or YZ. This keeps a work plane oriented toward your current view as you turn the model. If you prefer a fixed orientation instead, the automatic behaviour can be overridden by locking the plane or forcing a manual alignment.
miauu's Work Plane can be locked and used as a construction plane rather than following the screen rotation. Several methods let you set it manually to a specific center and axis: you can lock it quickly to a chosen major axis and position, snap it to selected geometry, or snap it to the polygons directly under the mouse. You can also force a manual alignment through the Work Plane commands, giving control over where the plane sits and which axis it constrains tools to.
miauu's Work Plane is listed as free in this catalog. Pricing and licensing can change over time, so check the developer's page for the current terms before relying on it for production. The version listed here is 1.31.0, last updated on 10 April 2023, which is a useful reference point when comparing against what the developer currently offers.
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