Setting Up Your Scene

You start with a new unnamed scene when you open the program. You can also start a new scene at any time by choosing New or Reset from the File menu.

Choosing a Unit Display

You choose a system of unit display on the Units Setup dialog. Choose from Metric, Standard US, and Generic methods, or design a custom measuring system. You can switch between different systems of unit display at any time.

Note For best results, use consistent units when you are going to: Merge scenes and objects. Use XRef objects or XRef scenes.

Setting the System Unit

The System Unit setting, in the Units Setup dialog, determines how 3ds Max relates to distance information you input to your scene. The setting also determines the range for round-off error. Consider changing the system unit value only when you model very large or very small scenes.

Setting Grid Spacing

Set spacing for the visible grid in the Grid And Snap Settings dialog > Home Grid panel. You can change grid spacing at any time.

See Precision and Drawing Aids for information about the system unit, unit display, and grid spacing.

Setting the Viewport Display

Viewport layout options

The default four viewports in 3ds Max represent an efficient and popular screen layout. Set options in the Viewport Configuration dialog to change viewport layout and display properties.

See Viewing and Navigating 3D Space for more information.

Saving Scenes

Save your scene frequently to protect yourself from mistakes and loss of work. See Backing Up and Archiving Scenes.

source: Autodesk 3ds Max Help