We all know one of the strongest workflows in 3ds Max is around its modifier stack. But, did you know you can easily copy modifiers between objects by simply dragging from the modifier panel directly onto the object.
1. Select the relevant modifier on the object you wish to copy from (or multiple modifiers)
2. Hold the left mouse button, and drag into the viewport. The cursor icon will indicate which objects this can be applied to. The viewport will also show you a representation of the modifier name to be applied, whilst dragging. (please note, the cursor did not screen grab in the below image.) In the screen grab we can see the singular modifier being applied to the grey teapot. The original object you are copying from remains selected.
3. When you mouse up (release) the button the relevant modifiers will now be applied to the selected geometry or spline objects.
To take this fast workflow further you can use CTRL and SHIFT for instancing and copying the modifiers whilst dragging. Press and hold these shortcut keys whilst selecting the modifiers (performing step 1.)
Its also worth noting that you can right click on the modifier in the stack, and perform the following actions, should you want to store the modifier in memory, and reuse repeatedly during that 3ds Max session.
- Cut
- Copy
- Paste
- Instance
- Make Unique
Happy Max’ing
