Using Units

When you change units, the program displays measurements in the new unit for your convenience. All dimensions in the program read out in the new unit. Essentially, you’re using a new "measuring stick." No object is changed in this process. As in the physical world, objects in the software maintain their absolute size, regardless of how you measure them.

When you enter a number, the program always assumes the current unit. You can also enter a series of numbers, and the software then converts the sum into the current unit. Here are some examples that assume you’re working in centimeters:

When you use US Standard, you can select either feet or inches as the default for type-in entry. If you select feet and enter 12, the result is 12’ 0". However, if you enter 1’ 2, the software identifies the second digit as inches, producing 1’ 2" as the result.

In any unit system, you can enter fractional amounts. Assume you’re working in US Standard with feet as the default:

3ds max keeps track of all measurements in its own internal system unit. No matter what kind of units you use, the program maintains measurements in this absolute unit for storage and computation. This means you can merge a model created with any standard unit into your scene at true scale. The software converts the model to the units currently active in your scene.

The default system unit is defined as 1.000 inch. As long as the system unit is left at one inch, you can freely share models and change units on the fly with no effect on the underlying geometry. Except in rare circumstances, you never need to change this default scale.

Do not reset the system unit unless you have a clear need to do so. If the need arises, see Units Setup.