Units of Measurement Reference

This section documents the API structures and functions related to units of measurement.

These functions use the following unit types:

• UNITS_INCHES
• UNITS_FEET
• UNITS_MILES
• UNITS_MILLIMETERS
• UNITS_CENTIMETERS
• UNITS_METERS

• UNITS_KILOMETERS

Functions

• GetMasterScale() - Retrieves the master scale in terms of the specified unit type. For example:. GetMasterScale(UNITS_INCHES) returns the number of inches per unit. Returns -1.0 if an invalid unit type is supplied.
• GetMasterUnitInfo() - Retrieves the master unit settings in effect. These are the unit type (Inches, Feet, Meters, etc.) and the master scale setting. This is the value the user entered in the "1 Unit = XXX field" of the General Page in the Preference Settings dialog box.
• SetMasterUnitInfo() - Sets the master unit settings. These are the unit type (Inches, Feet, Meters, etc.) and the master scale setting.
• GetUnitDisplayInfo() - Retrieves the current unit display information.
• SetUnitDisplayInfo() - Sets the unit display information used by 3ds Max.
• GetUnitDisplayType() - Returns the current unit display type to one of the following values:
• • UNITDISP_GENERIC
  • UNITDISP_METRIC
  • UNITDISP_US

  • UNITDISP_CUSTOM

• SetUnitDisplayType() - Sets the current unit display type to one of the following values:
• • UNITDISP_GENERIC
  • UNITDISP_METRIC
  • UNITDISP_US

  • UNITDISP_CUSTOM

• FormatUniverseValue() - Converts the specified value to an ASCII representation according to the current unit scale. Note that this can cause a string overflow, especially when the units are set to miles or kilometers. If an overflow occurs the function returns a null string (i.e. _T("")). Thus developers can check for this condition using something like if (buf[0] == '\0') to see if an overflow occurred.

• DecodeUniverseValue() - Parses the specified string using the current unit settings and converts it to a floating point value. If an error occurs in the parsing then valid is set to FALSE.

Default Distances

The following functions store and retrieve default distances in the defaults .INI file using a section and key.

• RegisterDistanceDefault() - Registers a default value for a distance value. The default has separate values for both Imperial and Metric systems. The Imperial default is given in inches and the Metric default is given in Meters.
• RestoreDistanceDefault() - Restores the original default value for a distance value.
• GetDistanceDefault() - Get the default for the given section and key in the defaults file. The system returns the default relative to the current system units. If the units are Imperial (inches, feet, etc.) it returns the Imperial version of the default, otherwise it returns the Metric version. In either case the default value is returned in the current system units.

• SetDistanceDefault() - Sets the defaults for the given section and key in the defaults file. The system sets the default relative to the current system units. If the units are Imperial (inches, feet, etc.) it sets the Imperial version of the default, otherwise it sets the Metric version.

See Also

• DispInfo

• Units of Measurement