Character Selector Window

Main window

The character selector window collects the most important controllers for your rig, where you can quickly reach them without having to click inside the 3ds Max viewport. A lot of animators prefer this selection method, as it enables you to have the controllers hidden.

Character drop down list

This drop down contain all the Super Simple Rig characters in the scene. Use this list to select which character you want to select.

Press the Update List to refresh and drop down list.

Controller selectors

The majority of the window is there to list the controllers on your rig. Here you can quickly select the most important controllers, from head to toe. There are also individual buttons for selecting the eye lookat controllers, and the face controllers (that controls the jaw). To avoid clutter, the selector window does not list fingers and bend/twist controllers.

You left click to select any controller, and right clicking will add controllers to your selection.

Buttons on lower right

These button give you shortcuts to some useful functions.

selall: Will select all controllers on the character.

keyall: Sets keys on all controllers on the character.

keysel: Sets keys on all the selected controllers.

filter: Set 3ds Max selection filter to shapes, so its easier to only pick controller objects.

hide: Hides the controllers on the characters. Press again to show or unhide the controllers.

more: Opens a flyout with additional controls.

Pressing the more button at the lower right of the window will open up a flyout with additional controls. These are controls you might need occasionally when animating, such as IK/FK switching and resetting multiple controllers.

Reset Attributes group

Press the Character button to reset all controllers on the characters to zero. This will move the character into its rigging or default pose.

Press the Selected button to reset all selected controller attributes to zero. This is great if you want to, for example, zero out all the face controllers.

The Don't reset IK switch turn on or off the resetting of IK attributes. Mostly when you reset all the controllers on the arm or leg, you don't want to switch the IK as well. Turn on this to make sure the switch doesn't happen. It should be on by default.

Transform Gizmo group

The transform gizmo group collects a bunch of tools available in the main 3ds Max toolbar, but having them inside this window makes for less mouse travel and clicking.

The first four buttons is for switching the axis of transformation. It will switch both rotate and transform. View aligns the axis to the viewport, Loc aligns them to local, Par aligns them to parent object and Gim aligns the axis to the gimbal. I recommend you stay with parent og gimbal at all times, only using viewport og local alignment for special cases.

The Toggle Center Box button toggles on a center transform box that makes it possible to move objects in screen space regardles of their axis setting. This is very handy to have for moving the torso and IK, and is not on as default in 3ds Max, even though Maya has this as default. I recommend having this on at all times.

Edit Keys group

This group contain functions for offsetting or clearing the keys on your controllers. You can do this on the entire timeline, or just a range of frames.

Press Character or Selected to do the operation on the entire character or just the selected controllers. You set the frame offset value with the spinner.

Switches and Locks group

The FK/IK Switch will switch your selected limb from forward kinematics (FK) to inverse kinematics (IK) and back again. It will store a key on the current frame and then set a key on the next frame with the new switched setting.

You use the Lock root controls to constraint th Add Lock Controls enabled. You parent the lock objects to the where you want the rig constrained, for example you can parent lock 1 to a car. You then press the 1 lock button when you want the character to switch its constraint.