Autodesk 3ds Max/Terminology

Active Viewport - The viewport in which you are currently working. In the default settings, the active viewport will always be outlined in yellow. CAT - Acronym for Character Animation Toolkit is an extensive set of scripts for creating character animation in 3ds Max. Previously a stand alone plugin developed by Softimage and aquired by Autodesk in 2008. Gizmo - A visual aid that helps the user understand the transformations being applied to an object. Modifier - an applied modification to an object in the scene, changing its features and/or structure. Works like a layer stack, many modifiers can be applied on top of each other. Hence the name modifier stack. Object - a 3-Dimensional object in your scene. Polygon - A flat "plane" made up of three or more points. Primitive - a basic object that can be created from the Create Geometry panel in the Command Panel on the right side of the screen. Shape - a 2-Dimensional object in your scene. Transform - the changing in size, position, or rotation of an object or shape. Triangulation - The process of converting polygons with more than three points into groups of triangles for rendering purposes.