With 3ds Max, you can quickly create multiple versions of one or more selected objects during a transform operation. You do this by holding down the Shift key as you move, rotate, or scale the selection.
Portico created from arrays of columns
The general term for duplicating objects is cloning. This section presents all the methods and choices available for cloning objects. In addition to the transform method, the tools include the following:
You can animate any of the cloning techniques.
To duplicate an object, you use one of three methods. For all three methods, the original and clone (or clones) are identical at the geometry level. Where the methods vary is in the way they handle modifiers (for example, Bend or Twist).
3ds Max provides several techniques for copying or duplicating objects; cloning is the general term for this process. These techniques can be used to clone any selection set.
Array is a dedicated tool for cloning and precisely transforming and positioning groups of objects in one or more spatial dimensions. For each of the three transforms (move, rotate, and scale), you can specify parameters for individual objects in the array, or for the array as a whole. Many results you can get with Array would be laborious or impossible using Shift+Clone techniques.
The Mirror tool uses a dialog that either creates a mirrored clone of a selected object, or mirrors the orientation of the object without creating a clone. You can preview the effects of settings before committing to the operation.
The Spacing Tool distributes objects based on the current selection along a path defined by a spline or pair of points. The distributed objects can be copies, instances, or references of the current selected object. You define a path by picking a spline or two points and by setting a number of parameters. You can also specify how the spacing between objects is determined and whether the insertion points of the objects align to the tangent of the spline.
