Modeler

LightWave Panelsand DialogsLightWave’s panels and requesters are generally non-modal andcan be left open even while you interact, say, with the Layoutwindow and its controls.Chapter 1: LightWave 3D Getting Started 9NOTE: LightWave will attempt to display theselected color to the best of your display’scapabilities. This will generally result in anapproximation of the color if you are using less than a 24-bitdisplay mode.Maths in Input FieldsNumeric input fields support basic maths operations (+, -, *, /,and ^) and algebraic equations. You can even mix units. Here isan example: (12ft+14m)^2+(3/5). The result, 312.3908 m, wouldappear after you press the Enter key. Note that the result is shownusing the default unit; here, it is meters. Also, since we didn’tspecify the unit of measure for the 3 and 5, the default is used.Enter/Tab Keys with Input FieldsWhen you enter values into dialogs that have multiple inputfields, the Tab and Enter keys have special functions to save youtime. Pressing the Tab key stores the entered/current value andautomatically advances you to the next input field. Shift + Tabmoves to the previous field. The Enter key also stores value,dismisses the dialog, if appropriate.Yes and NoWhenever a requester asks you a Yes or No question, pressing theEnter key is the same as selecting Yes, while pressing the Esckey is the same as selecting No. Likewise, an Error, Warning orReminder requester with a choice of Continue or Cancel can useEsc for Cancel and Enter for Continue. For those requesters withonly a Continue, pressing either Esc or Enter will close the panel.Color SelectionWhere you must select a certain color (e.g., surface color),there will be a three-number color component display and acolor swatch box. You can also drag your mouse on each colorcomponent to change its value. By default, the standard RGB colorspace is displayed; however, if you right-click on the display, youmay also use the Hue, Saturation, and Value (HSV) color space, ifthat is more familiar to you. HSV is based on the artist’s conceptsof tint, shade, and tone. There are over 16.7 million possible colorcombinations.Top: RGB, Bottom: HSVNOTE: Unlike RGB, HSV color components arenot independent. For example, if Value is 0 (i.e.,brightness is 0), you will not be able to changeHue (color) nor Saturation. Similarly, if Saturation is 0, youwill not be able to change Hue. Moreover, reducing onecomponent may cause another component to decrease.