From the Create panel of 3ds Max, you place basic objects in your scene, including 3D geometry, 2D shapes, lights and cameras, space warps, and helpers. Each object you add has its own set of creation parameters, which define its geometry and other characteristics, depending on the type of object. Once placed in a scene, objects carry their creation parameters with them. You can change these parameters on the Modify panel.
You also use the Modify panel to assign modifiers. Modifiers are tools for reshaping an object. While they mold the final appearance of the object, modifiers do not change its underlying creation parameters.
The Modify panel stays in view until you dismiss it by clicking the tab of another command panel. The top section of the panel always contains name and color controls, optionally the current modifier set buttons, the Modifier List, and the modifier stack and related controls. The remaining contents of the panel (various rollouts with options and controls) update when you select an object, giving you access only to what you can modify about that object.
What you can modify depends on whether an object is classed as a geometric primitive like a sphere, or as another kind of object, such as a light or a space warp. Each category has its own range of possibilities. The contents of the Modify panel are always specific to the category as well as to the selected object. When you make a change from the Modify panel, you immediately see the results transferred to the object.
You can change or delete modifiers by using the Modifier Stack Controls.
The name of the object appears at the top of the Modify panel, and the remainder of the panel displays settings for the object or the modifier at the top of its stack.
To apply a modifier from the Modify panel:
The modifier stack controls appear near the top of the Modify panel, just below the Modifier List. The modifier stack ("stack" for short) contains the accumulated history of an object, including its creation parameters and the modifiers applied to it. At the bottom of the stack is the original object. Above the object are the modifiers, in order from bottom to top. This is the order in which modifiers are applied to the object's geometry.
Some commands for managing modifiers are available by right-clicking the modifier stack display. Some options are unavailable if they don't apply to the current modifier. For example, Make Unique is available only if you select an instanced modifier.
Make Unique lets you convert an instanced object to a copy that's unique. A object is instanced when it is cloned (Shift+Move or Shift+Rotate). If you make changes to an instanced object the changes are also reflected in the other instances in your scene. Making objects unique lets you adjust or change those objects independently without affecting any other objects in the scene.
The button sets menu gives you options for managing and customizing shortcut buttons for applying modifiers.
This dialog lets you create custom modifier and button sets for the Modify panel.