scrappydog
02-01-2011, 01:04 PM
if I use alt B to bring a background bitmap into a viewport and then want to go back and change its scale at a later time, how do I do that?
Hello scrappydog!
You can hit Alt+B again to pull up the background dialog or go to Views > Viewport Background > Viewport Background. In there you can adjust the Aspect Ratio radio buttons to match the viewport, match the bitmap resolution or match the render resolution depending on what you're wanting. If you choose the Match Bitmap aspect ratio, you can adjust the size of the bitmap in any image editor and 3ds Max will match that size when you update the background (hotkey is Alt+Shift+Ctrl+B).
The 10 Ways to Improve Your Modeling in 3ds Max (http://www.digitaltutors.com/09/training.php?cid=107&pid=341) course has a great lesson on setting up Viewport Backgrounds.